If you are a fan of a lemon drizzle cake, try our double twist on the British family favourite – a Sourdough Lime Drizzle Cake! A brilliantly zingy cake that makes great use of sourdough discard.
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A traditional Lemon Drizzle cake was the first cake Seb made for me for my 22nd birthday, so it will always have a special place in my heart. Today we’ve made a Lime Drizzle, but this recipe works perfectly well using lemons instead of limes too.
To be brutally honest, using sourdough discard in this lime drizzle cake, doesn’t necessarily add anything to the flavour or the texture. It’s not surprising that the sourdough tang is overpowered by the lime tang. And since we are using discard, the rise of the cake doesn’t depend on it (we used baking powder for that).
However, if you bake with a sourdough starter, you will know why we added sourdough to this Lime Drizzle Cake. We hate waste, and finding ways to use that sourdough discard that otherwise would go to the bin, is vital for us. We make sourdough discard crackers, sweet and savoury scones and now, we introduce to you a wonderful Sourdough Lime Drizzle that works brilliantly with a bit of that discard added to it!
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How to Make our Zingy Sourdough Lime Drizzle Cake?
Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Lightly brush a 1.8l (2lbs) loaf tin with vegetable oil.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the vegetable oil, eggs and sugar and whisk until combined and sugar dissolves. In a separate bowl, mix sourdough starter discard and milk. Then add the mixture to the eggs alongside the zest of one lime and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, taking care not to overmix. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin.
Bake for 50-60 minutes in the centre of the oven. To check if it’s cooked, insert a wooden skewer or a toothpick into the centre. If your cake is cooked, it should come out clean.






Make small holes in the cake using a wooden skewer or a cocktail stick all over the cake. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and juice of two limes. Pour over the cake and scatter the zest of one lime on top. After the drizzle has soaked in and hardened, remove the lime drizzle cake from the tin and allow it to finish cooling on the wire rack.
For other Sourdough Discard ideas, have a look at our favourite recipes below:
- Lemon & Blueberry Sourdough Scones
- Herby Sourdough Crackers
- Sourdough Discard Banana Bread
- Very Cheesy Cheddar Sourdough Crackers

Sourdough Lime Drizzle Cake
Equipment
- Large Loaf TIn
Ingredients
- 120 ml vegetable oil
- 140 g caster sugar
- 2 eggs large
- 180 ml milk
- 120 g sourdough discard/ unfed starter 100% hydration
- 190 g plain flour
- 11/2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 lime zest
For the Drizzle:
- 2 limes juice of both, zest of one
- 11/2 tablespoon caster sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Lightly brush a 1.8l (2lbs) loaf tin with vegetable oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the vegetable oil, eggs and sugar and whisk until combined and sugar dissolves. In a separate bowl, mix sourdough starter discard and milk. Then add the mixture to the eggs alongside the zest of one lime and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, taking care not to overmix. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes in the centre of the oven. To check if it's cooked, instert a wooden skewer or a toothpick into the centre. If your cake is cooked, it should come out clean.
- den skewer or a cocktail stick all over the cake.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and juice of two limes. Pour over the cake and scatter the zest of one lime on top. After the drizzle has soaked in and hardened, remove the lime drizzle cake from the tin and allow to finish cooling on wire rack.
Nutrition

Natalie
I love lime cake! Made your lovely recipe last night, and couldn’t wait, so we hat it while still hot, delicious, thanks!
Ieva
Story of my life 😀 I can never wait for my bakes to cool to room temperature 🙂
Toni
This is such an amazing cake! Everyone at my house was so impressed!
Ieva
So glad you all liked it 🙂 It’s definitely one of our favourite uses of sourdough discard! 🙂
J Vella
Made this cake as always have lots of leftover discard. Made it with lemon as didn’t have any limes. Followed the instructions and it turned out amazing. Lovely and airy with a nice crunchy crust on the outside. My brood have already almost devoured it. So glad I found your site. Looking forward to try more of your recipes x
Ieva
Ahh, how lovely to hear you liked it! Hope you enjoy other recipes too! 😊
Jovita
This is smelling really good and so delicious! The family loves it, thanks for the recipe!
Ieva
You are most welcome, Jovita 🙂
kushigalu
What a delicious cake recipe. I wish I could grab a slice. I will try your recipe soon and let you know.
Ieva
I’m sure you’ll like it! 💗
Amy
Loved this bread for using my leftover discard! It’s so bright and fresh and yummy! And it was really easy to make too!
Ieva
Thanks, Amy! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂